Genres of Paintings Painting Genres    

Lesson 18: Portrait - Girl with a Pearl Earring

by Johannes Vermeer

Directions

Study the artwork for one week.

Over the week:

• Examine the artwork.
• Read the synopsis.
• Study the vocabulary words.
• Recite the artist and artwork names.
• Read about the artwork's genre.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Discuss the review questions.

Synopsis

Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's portrait, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' is well-known for the fictitious novel, play, and movie it inspired. The painting is of a lovely young girl, wearing an ornate dress, a turban, and an enormous pear-shaped pearl earring. This portrait is a special kind of painting called a 'tronie.' Tronies typically depict imaginary people and focus on the facial expressions and elaborate costuming of the subjects.

Vocabulary

Portrait: A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders.
Tronie: A style of portrait painting that features exaggerated facial expressions, elaborate costuming, and lacks an identifiable human subject.
Pear: A yellowish- or brownish-green edible fruit that is typically narrow at the stalk and wider toward the base, with sweet, slightly gritty flesh.
Pearl: A hard, lustrous spherical mass, typically white or bluish-gray, formed within the shell of a pearl oyster or other bivalve mollusk and highly prized as a gem.
Turban: A man's headdress, consisting of a long length of cotton or silk wound around a cap or the head, worn especially by Muslims and Sikhs.

Concepts

1. Portrait paintings typically feature a single human as the primary subject.
2. Portraits are often commissioned by the person being painted or their family.
3. Portraits are historically been painted for the rich and powerful, who could afford to pay for their paintings. Today, portraits may also be commissioned by those in the middle class.
4. The goal of the portrait is usually not to accurately represent reality and the subject's flaws, but rather to produce a flattering likeness of the subject.
5. Select types of portraits include, 1) Full-length, 2) Half-length, 3) Bust, 4) Profile, 5) Full-face, and 6) Three-quarters view.
6. See below examples of six common types of portraits: 1) Jacques-Louis David's 'Madame Récamier' (Full-length, Three-quarters), 2) Velázquez's 'Pope Innocent X' (Half-length, Three-quarters), 3) Mary Cassatt's 'Portrait of Madame Sisley' (Bust, Profile), and 4) 'Charles I in Three Positions' by Sir Anthony van Dyck (Half-Length with Profile, Full-face, and Three-quarters).

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

Zoom in to find the following in the artwork:

• Something Pear-shaped
• Something Elaborate
• Turban
• Pearl

Activity 2: Narrate the Artwork

• After studying the artwork, narrate the scene shown aloud using your own words.

Activity 3: Map the Artist

Zoom in on the map of Europe to find the Netherlands, the country of the artist, Leonardo da Vinci.

Activity 4: Color the Netherlands on the World Map   

• Click the crayon above and complete page 39 of 'Third Grade Art History Coloring Book.'

Activity 5: Color the Artwork   

• Click the crayon above and complete page 40 of 'Third Grade Art History Coloring Book.'

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the artwork?

1 / 4

Answer 1

The character in the portrait is the girl.

1 / 4

Question 2

What does the girl wear in the portrait?

2 / 4

Answer 2

The girl wears an elaborate dress, a pear-shaped pearl earring, and a turban.

2 / 4

Question 3

Into which genre is this painting classified?

3 / 4

Answer 3

This painting falls into the portrait genre.

3 / 4

Question 4

Is the portrait best described as a full-length, half-length, bust, profile, full-face, and/or three-quarters view?

4 / 4

Answer 4

This portrait is best described as a bust with a three-quarters facial view.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the artwork? The character in the portrait is the girl.
2. What does the girl wear in the portrait? The girl wears an elaborate dress, a pear-shaped pearl earring, and a turban.
3. Into which genre is this painting classified? This painting falls into the portrait genre.
4. Is the portrait best described as a full-length, half-length, bust, profile, full-face, and/or three-quarters view? This portrait is best described as a bust with a three-quarters facial view.

References

'Girl with a Pearl Earring.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Portrait painting.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Portrait.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Tronie.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.